Part of Shacking Up
First published 2021
Nevah is cruising through the desert in a rusted-out convertible when she spots Lawson on the side of the road, his car dead and the heat bearing down. She figures she is rescuing a damsel in distress. She is wrong. Lawson is a guy with blue eyes, rock-solid forearms, and a talent for bad luck. Nevah has long legs, a working knowledge of engines, and zero interest in playing it safe. What starts as a simple roadside rescue turns into something neither of them planned. The car trouble is just the beginning. The two end up stranded together, improvising shelter in a questionable motel, spreading out on a set of Kama Sutra sheets, and turning a breakdown into something that feels a lot like a beginning. This short story moves fast. Nevah tells her half, Lawson tells his, and together they map out a road trip that went sideways in the best possible way. The tension between them is immediate and physical, but the emotional pull underneath it is what keeps the story going. Two strangers, one desert, and a very memorable overnight stop.
Genres: fiction, romance, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: fast-paced, intimate, playful, steamy, tension-filled
Tropes: dual-narrative, forced-proximity, strangers-to-lovers
Setting: Desert, Motel
71 pages · Paperback · Ink & Cupcakes Inc
Content warnings: explicit-sexual-content